Regifting is alive and well

The gifts that keep on giving

From fruit cakes to Christmas candles, some holiday gifts might be recycled again and again. A new survey shows regifting isn't going away.

According to an annual survey by couponcabin.com, 39% of American adults have regifted an item. The results are very similar to the 2011 survey, when 41% said they regifted.

In case you didn't know, regifting is when you receive a gift from someone, and give it away to someone else.

Regifting Etiquette

Don't regift personalized or used items. This one may be a no-brainer, but you want to make sure the gift doesn't have your name on it. And, giving somebody used clothing or a book that's been read will clearly make you look cheap.

Only regift new items. This is clearly the best-case scenario. Brand new, unopened gifts make the best regift. The recipient should never be the wise.

Make your intentions clear. If you are regifting a questionable item, make sure the recipient knows that's its a gag gift. They don't have to know you didn't buy it, but they should know it's given with a sense of irony.

Don’t regift to someone who knows it’s a regift. It would be sort of stupid, to regift an item to a member of the family who saw you unwrap it last year. They might get offended.

Don’t make a habit out of it. If you’re regifting because you're a poor college student, that's totally understandable, but you should still make an effort not to be branded “the cheapskate” among friends and family.

Rewrap the item to make it look new

More Regifting Thoughts

We also found another survey conducted by Bookoo.com, an online yard sale community that helps yard salers buy and sell stuff. According to Bookoo’s 2012 Holiday Regifting Survey, the holidays are the most common time of year for people to regive presents that they previously received from someone else.

While frowned upon by some, a whopping 92 percent believe its completely acceptable to regift items, and more than 87 percent believe they too have been a recipient of a regifted item. And, with shoppers looking to save more and spend less this holiday season, more than 62 percent plan to regift an item to a friend, neighbor or colleague for the holidays.

Most commonly, people regift because they feel that someone will appreciate the item more than they do (62 percent) or because they couldn’t use the gift personally (53 percent). Additionally, regifting has its cost-saving benefits with 82 percent of people estimating that they have saved up to $150 by regifting. Wow!